The Action of Unsaturated Compounds on Natural Rubber in Solution. II. The Reaction Induced by Heat Alone
Abstract The addition reaction at an elevated temperature (170° C) of maleic N-methylimide with natural rubber in solution was studied. Attempts were made to apply the principles of kinetics to this thermal reaction with a view to understanding the nature of the reaction, but the complexity of the system made impossible any chance of attaining the results hoped for. A comparison of the fixation of acrylonitrile and that of maleic N-methylimide in the temperature range of 160°–200° C showed that the rates of these two reactions are in the ratio of 1 to 25–30. A determination of the unsaturation of the addition products showed that fixation is on the α-methylenic carbon atoms of the rubber hydrocarbon. Finally a mechanism of the reaction is proposed, in which free radicals play a part.